USF Launces CEO Forum Education Initiative

InsideINdianaBusiness.com Report

The University of Saint Francis says it is making materials from the annual CEO Forum available for high school teachers to use in their classrooms. The school says the program is designed to provide expertise from business leaders to the next generation of entrepreneurs.

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Fort Wayne, Ind. -- The Keith Busse School of Business and Entrepreneurial Leadership at the University of Saint Francis is making materials from its annual CEO Forum available as a classroom resource for high school business teachers as part of its CEO Forum Education Initiative. The CEO Forum Education Initiative will enrich course work while satisfying Indiana state teaching standards.

For nearly 20 years, the USF CEO Forum has brought top business leaders and entrepreneurs, including Bill Polian of the Indianapolis Colts and Bill Rasmussen of ESPN, to campus to address students and the business community. The expertise of these CEOs now extends to high schools, the wellspring of young entrepreneurial talent.

Educators can view the 2011 keynote speaker’s remarks and their relevance to Indiana state teaching standards at sf.edu/ceo-forum-ed. The materials are free of charge through the USF business school and its education sponsor, Barrett & McNagny LLP of Fort Wayne, a provider of business legal services for over 130 years.

The 2011 forum features Craig Culver, co-founder and CEO of the 440-store Culver’s restaurant chain. While students may connect with the presentation as Culver’s customers, they will also hear firsthand of the national retailer’s humble beginnings. The small town success story reveals Culver’s business reasoning, concerns and challenges. The family business thrived, due in part to principles Culver imparts in his forum presentation: “Don’t do something just for money. Do it for love. Do it for passion. Do it for happiness.” The 40-minute keynote speech is followed by a 10-minute question-and-answer period.

Mike Robinson, Vice President for Sustainability and Global Regulatory Affairs for General Motors, addressed “The Future of Sustainability: Impact on Efficiency, Innovation and Profit” at the 19th CEO Forum on Oct. 18. Those forum materials will be available as high school business education resources at a later date.

The University of Saint Francis, founded in 1890 as a comprehensive university in the Catholic Franciscan tradition, offers more than 60 undergraduate and 14 graduate programs in five schools: The School of Health Sciences, School of Arts and Sciences, Keith Busse School of Business and Entrepreneurial Leadership, School of Professional Studies and School of Creative Arts. More than 2,300 students from a broad geographic region attend USF for its academic excellence. The university has a regional campus in Crown Point, Ind.